Fourteenth Century AD

Worksheet 5

‘A Life for a Life’

The Mint

Fact File

King John was king of England from 1199 to 1216. He built the castle at Limerick about 1200 and set up a mint in the cellar of one tower.

A mint is a place, usually set up by the government of the country, to manufacture money. The mint at King John’s Castle was set up to ‘mint’ silver, not gold coins.

There was plenty of silver that could be melted down and shaped into coins in the countryside around Limerick. Silver was found in the mountains of Tipperary and of Clare.

Only pennies were minted at King John’s Castle until the year 1278 and then a four- pence piece was introduced. This was called a groat.

Read &Write:

1. Chapter 7 Why did the cellar of the Constable's Tower have a fireplace?

2. Chapter 7 Where would the silver be melted?

3. Chapter 7 What would they do when the silver was liquid ?

4.Chapter 7 What happened when the coins had cooled and hardened?

5. Chapter 7 What centuries did King John live in?

6. Chapter 7 What were the names of the silver coins?

Draw…!

Draw some coins on to silver paper or tinfoil and mount them on black paper. You can decorate them markers or pencils.

Explore…!

Ask your parent or teacher to allow you to explore the Internet to see some examples of the coins which were minted at King John’s Castle in Limerick.

If possible, visit the castle and see the exact spot where the coins were minted.

 

Imagine…!

That you are visiting the mint at King John’s Castle and you suddenly drop back in time to the early thirteenth century when the mint was first set up here. Write about what happens.

That you are asked by the Irish government to design a new Euro, write down a list of possible pictures or designs that the coin should show.